The criticism surrounding Maine Gov Paul LePage’s (R) plan to abolish the state income tax continued on Thursday, when a former state lawmaker confronted him during a town hall and left him with a momento — a jar of vaseline.

According to the Huffington Post, ex-state Rep. Joanne Twomey (D) challenged LePage over his proposed budget, which she said would hurt the state’s poorest residents.

“With all due respect, I was elected to speak truth to power, and I was in the state legislature for eight years, said Twomey, who was in office from 1998 to 2006. “I sat on those tax committees when they wanted to tax haircuts and tax you to go to the movies. But poor people, governor, can’t go to Disneyland.”

“Madam, you’re wrong,” LePage responded. Footage of the encounter shows a group of men approach Towney and pull her away by the arm, prompting boos from the crowd. She then approaches the stage with her back to the camera. As she is pulled away again, the small vaseline jar can be seen at the stage at LePage’s feet. The governor then ended the forum.

Twomey later said that the vaseline was a reference to a remark LePage made in 2013 about another Democratic lawmaker, state Sen. Troy Jackson.

“Senator Jackson claims to be for the people, but he’s the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline,” LePage said at the time. “He is bad. He has no brains, and he has a black heart.”

About the Author

Arturo R. García is the managing editor at Racialicious.com. He is based in San Diego, California and has written for both print and broadcast media, including contributions to GlobalComment.com, The Root and Comment Is Free. Follow him on Twitter at @ABoyNamedArt